Nothing Personal (I) (2009)

Alone in her empty flat, from her window Anne observes the people passing by who nervously snatch up the personal belongings and pieces of furniture she has put out on the pavement. Her ... See full summary »

Director:

Urszula Antoniak

Writer:

Urszula Antoniak (scriptwriter)

Stars:

Stephen Rea, Lotte Verbeek, Tom Charlfa

11 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Stephen Rea	...	Martin
Lotte Verbeek	...	Anne
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tom Charlfa	...	Father picknick
Jackie Coyne	...	Sean Nos dancer
Aindrias De Staic	...	Fiddle player
Fiona Kelly	...	Female bartender
Petey Madigan	...	Accordeon player
Sean McRonnel	...	Younger son picknick
Paul Ronan	...	Man in car
Irene Sanchez	...	Hotelclerk Spain

Storyline

Alone in her empty flat, from her window Anne observes the people passing by who nervously snatch up the personal belongings and pieces of furniture she has put out on the pavement. Her final gesture of taking a ring off her finger signals she is leaving her previous life in Holland behind. She goes to Ireland, where she chooses to lead a solitary, wandering existence, striding through the austere landscapes of Connemara. During her travels, she discovers a house that is home to a hermit, Martin.

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Plot Keywords:

loneliness | nudity | on the road | muteness | hunting | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Ireland Netherlands

Language:

English Dutch Irish German

Release Date:

19 November 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nada Pessoal

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fastnet Films, Family Affair Films, Rinkel Film & TV Productions BV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 85 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Martin: Talent knows where to stop.

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Soundtracks

"Hot Mystery"
Publisher: All Music Publishing BV
Written and performed by Neil Zaza
Library: Studio Cutz

User Reviews

Plenty in Nothing Personal

Based on the Locarno credentials of this movie (garnering six awards at that event, not counting many others) I decided to take a dive into some of my expatriate's work abroad. A very simple tale about Anne (Lotte Verbaek), who cuts away from everything connected to her previous life in Holland (most likely due to the death of her husband, but we can only speculate the real reason) and backpacks to Ireland. There she comes across an elderly fisherman, Martin, (the brilliant Stephen Rea), who lives in solitude in a desolate location close to the sea. On their encounter Anne is extremely rash, even rude, being in a state devoid of any warmth or friendliness. However they soon agree to an uneasy truce: Anne will work for food, but as long as no personal matters are touched.

Set in untiringly beautiful locations of the Irish countryside the movie always manages to remain an eye-catcher (especially a fascinating peninsular, which is the main location of the movie), which helps keep the focus on the story itself, despite its very slowly unwinding rudimentary plot. Emotionwise I wasn't however fully convinced by Lotte Verbaek and additionally I did feel that several scenes/dialogues seemed not to fit the overall tone and logic of the movie. Nonetheless the whole story rings with a somber truth, as emotions and feelings catch the characters unawares, which leads to an absolutely heart-wrenching finale (the scene from the poster). Very simply crafted and set in the most basic human feelings it really has an unbelievable capacity to capture the attention and linger in memory.

Despite it's flaws it remains a stunning, if very reserved, watch, which shows the immense potential of Polish-born Urszula Antoniak.